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Article

5 Mar 2015

Author:
Jenna Greene, National Law Journal (USA)

US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says drop in lawsuits reflects a focus on systemic discrimination cases

“Steep Drop in EEOC Lawsuits,” 2 Mar 2015 [subsciption required]

…During…2014, agency litigators won the lowest monetary penalties since…1997…and filed half as many new suits as a decade before…According to…[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) general counsel], one reason…is the kind of suits the agency is filing. "The enforcement priorities…such as failure-to-hire cases and protecting vulnerable workers, often don't involve extensive out-of-pocket damages," he said…[T]he EEOC is increasingly focusing on complex "systemic" cases involving allegations of widespread discrimination, pursuing bold — although not necessarily successful — legal theories…Some of the pending cases offer the potential for major damages, such as a $300 million suit against Bass Pro Outdoor World for failing to hire black and Hispanic workers…In other instances, the EEOC has come up empty-handed…Conciliation has been a central issue for the EEOC…[A] former EEOC commissioner…[said] "Enforcement must be grounded on a sound legal foundation…We all want a successful anti-discrimination agency, but I don't know if that's what we're looking at right now." [Also refers to AutoZone Stores, CVS, Freeman Cos, Mach Mining]